Mysterious bus cruises town

At first glance, it looked like the Bush campaign had hit Charlottesville.

But when the "Yes Bush Can '04" bus stopped on the Downtown Mall at Second Street October 21, with an amplified voice extolling, "Vote for Bush, the end is near. Vote for Bush, Armageddon is at hand," passersby looked again.

Maybe it was the nuclear missile strapped on top. Perhaps it was the slogan, "I'm telling the truth." Definitely, it was the picture of George Bush with the crazed eyes on the side of the bus that suggested this vehicle was not officially from the Bush campaign.

"Yes Bush Can" is a national satirical group that often gets invited to real Bush events by unsuspecting supporters. According to its website, the bus came into Charlottesville October 19 to rebut bike-riding "ecoterrorists." It circled the Downtown Mall the next day until it was run off by police.